Upgrade from a TomTom Start 55M

[eglideic]

I have been using a TomTom Start 55M for quite a while and think it might be time to upgrade to a newer model.
I am looking at a TomTom GO 60 S but am not sure about the features it has. I know it can give directions through a smart phone, but is that the only way you can hear directions. Won't it also give instructions over a built in speaker like the Start model 55M does?
I don't see any reason to involve another device in getting my directions. I prefer NOT to involve any other device.
Maybe there is another newer model I should be looking at.

 

[canderson]

Yes, the 60S has its own speaker and provides its own directional information. What you can do is send destinations and the like from your phone if you're not near your unit when planning a trip. Your phone isn't needed at all, but I think you WILL want to use the TomTom app on it so that you can get real-time traffic. That's one of the really big differences between your 55M (RDS traffic, if any at all) and Live traffic on a 60S. Your phone grabs the traffic data from TomTom and provides it to your 60S, and it's a lot more detailed than the old RDS traffic ever was. The 60S comes with a free subscription to that traffic service.

 

[eglideic]

Yes, the 60S has its own speaker and provides its own directional information. What you can do is send destinations and the like from your phone if you're not near your unit when planning a trip. Your phone isn't needed at all, but I think you WILL want to use the TomTom app on it so that you can get real-time traffic. That's one of the really big differences between your 55M (RDS traffic, if any at all) and Live traffic on a 60S. Your phone grabs the traffic data from TomTom and provides it to your 60S, and it's a lot more detailed than the old RDS traffic ever was. The 60S comes with a free subscription to that traffic service.

You said "but I think you WILL want to use the TomTom app on it so that you can get real-time traffic. That's one of the really big differences between your 55M (RDS traffic, if any at all) and Live traffic on a 60S".
You're talking to a guy that has never texted in is life and has no interest in doing it.
I don't live by my smart phone. And I don't care about traffic. Where I live there is no traffic.
I actually own a smart phone, but only have the most basic knowledge of how it works and that is all I need.
Thanks for your answer though.

 

[canderson]

I have no idea what you mean by texting in this context, nor am I suggesting that you do so. Kind of out of left field, it seemed.

Your profile doesn't tell us much about your location, but after your comment, I had a peek at your IP address. Unless that's a proxy, I'd have to agree that if you don't travel much outside of your local area, traffic won't be a major concern for you.

I am curious -- why are you wishing to update from your Start 55?
Knowing what you're trying to improve might take us at least one step forward in the decision making process, rather than one or two backwards.

 

[eglideic]

I have no idea what you mean by texting in this context, nor am I suggesting that you do so. Kind of out of left field, it seemed.

Your profile doesn't tell us much about your location, but after your comment, I had a peek at your IP address. Unless that's a proxy, I'd have to agree that if you don't travel much outside of your local area, traffic won't be a major concern for you.

I am curious -- why are you wishing to update from your Start 55?
Knowing what you're trying to improve might take us at least one step forward in the decision making process, rather than one or two backwards.

Not "update", but upgrade. I saw the TomTom GO 60 sales literature and thought the 3D images were really something and that machine might be something nice to own.
My reference to "never had texted in my life", was to show that I'm kind of out of the loop as far as being a super geek, and don't really have a smart phone glued to my hand as it appears many, many people do.
And I have no idea how you can tell where I live from looking at my IP address. The truth is I don't even know what my IP address is or where to look for it.
BUT, I do get around to some nearby populated areas, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansa City, Omaha with some regularity.

Also I just updated my profile.

 

[Arno]

Chances are that reality 3D buildings are not shown in places like Omaha, Davenport, etc.
Driving in downtown Chicago may become rather annoying with a 3D image map if used to paper maps and the Start 55M.

 

[canderson]

"Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansa City,"

Honestly, I think you'll really like the Live traffic service that will most definitely appear in those cities.
The way TomTom is working it these days is that you run a small app on your smart phone that collects local traffic data and sends it to the TomTom nav device using a Bluetooth connection between them. I'm including a small sample of Chicago's traffic as it is while I write this post (things are NOT pretty there this morning!) just to show how many side streets are even covered in the Live traffic data now. Ugly amounts of orange and worse, lots of red. This can improve routing efficiency tremendously.